What I’m Wearing
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My whole quest to make my bathroom more sustainable actually started in my kitchen with paper towels.
I posted to my Instagram stories how I was struggling to find paper towels in the pandemic. My friend Emma responded and said I shouldn’t be using paper towels and instead use microfiber cloths. This seemed crazy to me, I use paper towels ALL the time. I am constantly wiping down my counters, using as a napkin for meals and drying my hands after washing them in the sink.
I was finally able to track down some paper towels (thank you Target) and became SO stingy about using them in fear of not being able to replace them again. I started to realize how frequently I was going through a roll of paper towels and thought maybe I didn’t need to use a paper towel after washing my hands and instead could wipe on a dish towel.
THEN I read this Buzzfeed article (it’s like my phone knew I was feeling sustainable guilt) and was blown away at the amount of single use plastic in bathrooms. I guess I never realized how many things we use once and throw away. Now, there are some things on this list that are just way too unrealistic for me to adopt into my everyday lifestyle (reusable tampons… I think no). But with my friend Emma’s help and with the Buzzfeed article, I was able to identify a few areas I could cut down on my bathroom waste without sacrificing in quality or efficiency.
A Recycling Waste Bin
This is something I have been doing for years but thought I’d share because it really is SO easy and mindless. I bought another mini waste basket and sat it next to my trash bin and now I have a little recycling bin in my bathroom! Now I can easily recycle cardboard from toothpaste boxes, new makeup/skincare packaging, my daily contact lens cases. There are so many plastic things in your bathroom that CAN be recycled and the second waste basket makes recycling routine!
Reusable Cotton Rounds
I use cotton rounds daily with micellar water to take my makeup off following up with a second cotton round for my nightly toner. These single use cotton rounds aren’t cheap and I always put off repurchasing them because I hate spending money every few weeks on new ones. These reusable cotton rounds couldn’t be easier and I’m so happy to be saving money and saving the earth. What is great about these is that they have a little bit of a microfiber surface which I think really helps with exfoliation. I use them one time before throwing them in the wash with my towels! It’s that easy and they come in a pack of 16 so you don’t have to worry about washing all of them too frequently.
Magic Eraser Makeup Wipe
All guilty of using expensive/chemical makeup wipes say I (me for YEARS!). I never realized how many of these makeup wipes I use in a month… a year… this is so much single use trash AND the chemicals used aren’t great for your eyes either. I came across this makeup eraser and it has over 1,800 five star reviews. This thing is legit. I thought no way could it work as well as my little makeup wipe and yep… this thing is the real deal. It removes SO much makeup literally all of it with just water. I’m not even sure how it’s possible but it is completely painless and you can use the cloth a bunch of times before you throw it in the wash with your towels (and cotton pads!).
Sustainable Floss Picks
I have literally never used regular floss I’m not even sure I’d know how and I always use those little green floss picks you get at the grocery store. Well those are NOT recyclable but I did find these floss picks that can be recycled. These have great reviews and are mint flavored so I’m really not compromising anything by being more sustainable!
Bamboo Cotton Swabs
Pierce loves cotton swabs and is always using them to clean out his ears. I’m not the biggest cotton swab person they really hurt my ears but if you are super into them try out these bamboo cotton swabs! They can be recycled and are so affordable! I bought a pack for Pierce!
Silicone Loofah
These are so cute who wouldn’t want one of these in the shower! I’ve actually gotten ads for silicone loofahs and thought there was no way they could work as well as the regular ones but these are awesome AND they can be recycled once you’re ready for a new one.
I know there are hundreds more ways I could be limiting my single use waste. A goal of mine in the kitchen includes cutting down on single use plastic bags and investing in these instead.
My biggest thing with sustainability is that it can’t cost me more and limit my quality or efficiencies. I whole heartily agree that all these ways above meet that criteria and are just a few simple ways I can play my part in taking care of the world.
We can all be doing something and something is a lot better than nothing!
xoxo,
Zoe